US 11,956,098 B2
Communication apparatus and communication method
Noriko Iiyama, Musashino (JP); Masamichi Fujiwara, Musashino (JP); Hiroo Suzuki, Musashino (JP); and Junichi Kani, Musashino (JP)
Assigned to NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 18/007,645
Filed by NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Jun. 8, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/022590
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 1, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/250759, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 16, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0246876 A1, Aug. 3, 2023
Int. Cl. H04L 12/44 (2006.01); H04L 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC H04L 12/44 (2013.01) [H04L 5/0048 (2013.01)] 3 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A communication apparatus comprising:
a MAC (Media Access Control) unit that is configured as a component that can be interchanged and that processes a main signal including a payload, and determines a communication timing of the main signal;
a communication unit that is a communication interface configured as a component that can be interchanged, and that performs at least one of transmission processing for changing, when Electrical-to-Optical (E/O) converting the main signal and transmitting the main signal to a communication counterpart device, a transmission condition based on the communication timing acquired from the MAC (Media Access Control) unit, and reception processing for changing, when O/E converting the main signal received from the communication counterpart device, a reception condition based on the communication timing acquired from the MAC (Media Access Control) unit;
a main signal transmission line that is an interface through which the main signal is transmitted between the MAC (Media Access Control) unit and the communication unit; and
a control information transmission line that is an interface that is provided separately from the main signal transmission line, and through which communication timing data that is data indicating the communication timing is transmitted from the MAC (Media Access Control) unit to the communication unit, wherein the MAC unit transmits the communication timing data in a format that is different from the frame to the communication unit via the control information transmission line.